LESSON 7

THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

SUMMARY steps such as judging, abstracting,
inferring, reasoning, imagining,
The process of knowing or
and remembering. These steps are
acquiring knowledge is called
often directed towards the solution
cognition. The process of acquiring
of the problem.
knowledge is facilitated by
cognitive processes such as It relies on a variety of mental
attention, thinking, remembering, structures such as concepts and
and reasoning. The cognitive reasoning.
processes are very much specific to Concepts: Concepts represent
human beings and are guided by objects, activities, ideas, or living
concepts, facts, propositions, organisms. They are mental
rules, and memories. All these structures which allow us to
cognitive activities are governed by organize knowledge in
thinking. systematic ways. We cannot
Nature of Thinking observe them directly, but we can
infer them from behaviour.
Thinking is a complex mental
process which involves Reasoning: It is a process that
manipulation of information. It involves inference. It is used in
continues in our sleep as well. The logical thinking and problem
difference between what is solving. It is goal directed, and
thinking and what is not thinking, the conclusions or judgments are
is just our awareness about the drawn from a set of facts. There
particular thinking process. It is a are two types of reasoning:
constructive process as it helps in Deductive Inductive
forming a new representation of reasoning reasoning
any object or event by starts from
deducing or
transforming available available
drawing
evidence to
information. conclusion from
generate a
a set of initial
conclusion about
It involves a number of mental assertions or
the likelihood of
premises
activities, such as inferring, something
abstracting, reasoning, imagining,
judging, problem solving, and Most cases of scientific reasoning
creative thinking. Such activities are inductive in nature.
take place in our mind and can be Problem Solving
inferred from our behaviors.
In case of solving any type of
It is usually initiated by a problem problem our thinking becomes
and goes through a sequence of directed and focused and we try to

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use all the resources, both internal and again fail to reach the
(mind) and external (support and solution. Such phenomenon in
help of others) to arrive at the right problem solving is called mental
and appropriate decision. set.
Problem solving is directed, Previous success with a
thinking focused towards dealing particular rule produces a kind of
with a specific problem. This mental
ental rigidity/fixedness/set,
thinking has three elements: the which hinders the process of
problem, the goal,, and the steps generating new ideas to solve a
to reach the goal. new problem. A mental set inhibits
or affects the quality of our mental
There are two methods which are
activities.
used prominently in problem
solving - “Means-end-analysis”
analysis” Creativity and its role in
and “Algorithms”. life
•a specific step-by-step
step Creativity is a particular kind of
procedure is followed for
solving certain types of
thinking which involves reaching
Means-end-
analysis problems. out to the solution of a problem in
a unique and novel way which was
•a well-defined
defined procedure or set
nonexistent earlier.
of rules that is used to solve a
problem or accomplish a task or Unlike routine solutions to
Algorithms that is used for conducting a the problems, creative solutions
series of computations.
are novel, original, and unique.
They are sudden or spontaneous
•it
it is also called the rule of and are the outcome ome of a lot of
thumb. individual is free to go
for any kind of possible rules or work and preparation already done
Heuristics ideas to reach the solution. consciously and unconsciously.
The sudden appearance of new
ideas is called insight.
Stages of Creative Thinking
Problem Solving and Mental Set
Sometimes we use a particular Graham Wall as,, one of the leading
strategy/technique to solve a psychologists of the early twentieth
problem but we may or may not century stated that there are five
succeed in our effort to solve the stages of creative thinking. These
problem. This creates a set to are as follows;
approach future problems that are Preparation - the thinker
encountered by a person. The set formulates the problem and
continues even if the problem is collects facts and materials
different. Despite this, we use the necessary for the solution. Unable
same strategy/technique whenever to solve the problem the thinker
we come across the same problem deliberately or involuntarily turns

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away from the problem, initiating our day-to-day life, such as
stage two i.e. incubation. decisions pertaining to our
personal life, social life, education,
Incubation - This is a stage of no
career etc. Decisions can lead to
solution and involves a number of
emotional and cognitive success or failure, but our decision
complexities. However, the making also involves judgment.
negative effects of mental set, Judgment - Judgment is a process
functional fixedness, and other of forming opinions, arriving at
ideas that interfere with the conclusions, and making critical
solution tend to fade. Perhaps, evaluations about objects, events
fatigue and too much of concern and people on the basis of
with the problem also mount up available information. The process
during this stage. of judgment is often automatic and
Illumination - In this stage a spontaneous. It does not require
potential solution to the problem any prompting. Some judgmental
seems to be realized as if from choices are habitual. Judgments
nowhere. Illumination occurs with involve evaluating information
its “aha” experience when a about the world (objects, events,
sudden idea or solution appears persons, etc.), while decisions
into consciousness. require making choices.
Do you know?
Evaluation - : In this stage the
obtained solution is verified or A personality dimension called
tested to see if it works. ‘Origence’ has been shown related
to creativity.
Revision - Revision is required in
the case of a solution which is not Evaluate yourself
satisfactory. 1. Describe the role of ‘mental set’
Research suggests that creative in problem solving.
people are generally talented and 2. Discuss the stages of creative
have some specific abilities. They thinking.
have some specific personality 3. Define the two types of
characteristics such as- reasoning with examples.
independent in their judgments,
self-assertive, dominant, and
impulsive, prefer complexity, etc.

Decision Making
Decision making - it is a kind of
problem solving in which we select
an appropriate alternative out of a
number of alternatives available to
us. We make several decisions in

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